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Andreas Athanasiou Heading To Switzerland

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Detroit Red Wings restricted free agent forward Andreas Athanasiou remains unsigned… for now. The latest news on the league’s last remaining RFA comes from TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who shares that Athanasiou is on his way to Switzerland to skate with HC Lugano of the NLA. McKenzie was quick to add that Athanasiou has not signed Lugano and is still evaluating his options, but his commitment to going overseas for the time being raises more doubts that he will suit up in the NHL this season.

A recent poll revealed that most fans felt Athanasiou and former holdout Josh Anderson would each re-sign with their respective teams. The second most popular answer was that the pair would both play overseas. Anderson has done his part to prove true the majority, re-upping with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Athanasiou has not made any similar progress with Detroit and seems more likely to join in the dissenting opinion. Interestingly, it was Anderson who had been connected to the NLA this off-season, with Athanasiou reportedly fielding offers from the KHL. Athanasiou may still end up in Russia, but with an influx of talent heading to the NLA in recent years and the the past success of Lugano, who has not missed the playoffs in six years, the team is far from a poor fit. Athanasiou would be skating alongside former Red Wing Damien Brunner, as well as NHL veterans Maxim Lapierre and Bobby Sanguinetti should he sign with Lugano and the talented group could very well make a title run in 2017-18.

Still, the best thing for Athanasiou and for hockey is for the skilled 23-year-old to stay in North America. In just his second NHL season, the young center scored 18 goals and defied expectations for a Detroit team with few bright spots. The Red Wings may not want to overpay – in salary or term – for Athanasiou, who did have an unsustainable 15% shooting percentage in 2016-17 and is only in the early stages of developing a defensive game, but the best decision is always to work things out. Just ask the Dallas Stars, who missed the playoffs last season and had to go on a spending spree this summer in hopes of righting the ship. They would love to have Valeri Nichushkin back, the talented young winger who left the team in the summer of 2016 to head to the KHL, where he remains, after failing to come to terms in restricted free agency. Maybe the Red Wings would rather trade Athanasiou or maybe they’ll realize their mistake and work out a contract. Either way, there seems to be little upside to simply losing the scoring youth for this season (or longer). Athanasiou skating with Lugano may just be the straw that finally breaks Ken Holland’s back.

 

Jeff Tambellini To Retire, Coach At Michigan

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Former NHL forward Jeff Tambellini may be retiring from pro hockey, but he seems to have his next career already planned out. The University of Michigan revealed tonight that Tambellini will return to campus to finish his degree and has been named an “undergraduate assistant coach”. Tambellini himself has yet to recognize his retirement, but may never actually do so in any official capacity.

Normally, “graduate assistant coach” is a title given to recent grads helping out with their alma mater’s program in some way. Tambellini’s new title of “undergraduate assistant coach” is almost unheard of, but fitting for the former All-American who left Michigan a year early after three dominant seasons. He returns to finish his degree with over a decade of pro hockey experience under his belt.

A first-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2003, there were high expectations of Tambellini that only increased with each collegiate season. Yet, once he turned pro, the small, speedy forward struggled to skate around the opposition like he could in the NCAA. The Kings traded him to the Islanders after only four games with the team, sending he and Denis Grebeshkov to New York for Mark Parrish and Brent Sopel. Tambellini carved out a bottom-six/AHL depth role for himself on the island and played for New York for four more seasons, accumulating 46 points in 176 games. Tambellini played his final NHL season in 2010-11 with the Vancouver Canucks, posting a career-best 17 points and +10 rating in 62 games and playing in the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins.

Since then, Tambellini has had an up-and-down experience as a globe-trotting veteran. He was a force to reckon with in his first pro season outside the NHL, scoring 45 points in 50 games with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss NLA. Injuries limited his production in his second season with the Lions, so he moved on to Sweden, where he played well for MODO. He again struggled in the following year, splitting his time between the SHL and NLA, but not finding results in either location. 2015-16 marked an attempted NHL comeback, as Tambellini signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite impressive production in the AHL, Tambellini did not see any NHL action and headed back to Sweden last season, where he struggled mightily and, at the age of 33, likely decided it was time to hand up his skates.

However, his new opportunity with the Wolverines should allow Jeff to follow in his father’s footsteps. Steve Tambellini played ten years in the NHL, but is likely best known for his later work off the ice. Steve was the GM of the Edmonton Oilers from 2008 to 2013 and also previously worked for the Vancouver Canucks and Team Canada. He is currently a scout for the Anaheim Ducks. While Jeff seems to be heading more in a coaching route rather than toward a front office future, it is clear that hockey intelligence runs in the family and Jeff could have a shot a great coaching career, beginning with his return to Ann Arbor this season. Who knows, if coaching is a great fit for Jeff, he may end up back in the NHL, this time behind the bench, before little brother Adam Tambellini, a New York Rangers prospect, makes it to the big time himself.

Poll: The Fate Of The Remaining RFA’s

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Notable players have begun to be cut from training camps and placed on waivers as the season draws closer, under two weeks away now. Yet, two restricted free agents still have yet to even sign a new contract, nevertheless compete in camp. Columbus’ Josh Anderson and Detroit’s Andreas Athanasiou still remain unsigned long after agreements were reached in more difficult RFA cases like those of David Pastrnak and Sam Bennett. Not only do the pair still not have contracts for the coming year, but seemingly no progress has been made recently either.

After it was reported more than a week ago that there was a “vast gap” in negotiations between Anderson and the Blue Jackets, a recent update stated that “no progress” had been made since then either. The newest piece of information has Anderson traveling to Switzerland, where he could potentially meet with several NLA teams. Anderson has also spoken about the possibility of starring for Team Canada at the Olympics. Anderson scored 17 goals for Columbus last year, which would be quite a lot of production for a team chasing a division title to lose.

Athanasiou is beyond overseas speculation; he has several hard offers on the table from KHL clubs. While “talks continue” between the two sides, there has been no concrete news for days. The “Riley Sheahan-to-Pittsburgh” rumor, that is supposedly contingent on an agreement with Athanasiou, has obviously not happened either, as it has been all quiet from both the Red Wings and their talented, young player. Athanasiou scored 29 points in 64 games for the struggling Wings last year. Can a team lacking much game-breaking talent afford to lose such a player?

There are a lot of different ways that this could all end up. Either or both could simply sign with their current teams, whether it be in the coming weeks or early in the season like several 2016 cases. Either one could be traded to a team with greater need and greater ability to sign them to a deal that comes closer to their desired term and salary. Or, the nuclear option, both have expressed and interest (read: threatened) in going overseas and could pull the trigger if their team will not sign or trade them. Take a crack at the poll below and sort through a variety of endings to these RFA sagas:

Roster Or Bust For Sharks’ Noah Rod

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The “Russian Factor” is an old adage in hockey referring to the reluctance of some Russian players to fully commit to North American hockey. Thus far in his pro career, San Jose Sharks prospect Noah Rod may be pushing for “Swiss Factor” to gain some credence as well. A 2014 second-round pick and a highly-regarded young forward who played professionally in the Swiss NLA before the age of 18, Rod didn’t make his move overseas until late last season. After three seasons of only modest offense with Geneve-Servette HC, Rod turned some early season production – 14 points in 27 games – into leverage for a entry-level deal with the Sharks with hopes of an NHL shot. However, after inking a three-year, $2.43MM ELC on March 23rd, Rod skated in just two regular season games and five playoff games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, recording only two points.

Now, with a new season upon us, Rod is again showing that he may not be committed to North America. Rod would like to play in San Jose this season, but with only one of the city’s two teams. The Swiss Hockey News reports that Rod seems unwilling to play with the Barracuda and would like to return to Switzerland if he cannot crack the Sharks roster. Rod will certainly be given plenty of play time in San Jose’s upcoming prospect showcase, a four-team tournament between Western Conference adversaries where he will skate alongside fellow Swiss forward prospect Vincent Praplan, and will likely see significant ice time in the preseason as well. However, if the Sharks decide that Rod is not yet ready for a full-time NHL role, they could lose his services altogether if he returns to Geneve-Servette. The historic club has a handful of former NHLers leading their forward corps – Nick Spaling, Nathan Gerbe, Cody Almond – but would love to add their homegrown young talent back into the mix.

By all accounts, not sticking Rod on the NHL roster, at least initially, would be a mistake by the Sharks. After an off-season in which the Sharks have thus far done practically nothing, including losing long-time star Patrick Marleau and adding only veteran checker Brandon Bollig to replace him, San Jose needs any scoring spark they can get this season to make up for Marleau’s lost production. Rod may not have been an offensive dynamo in the NLA, but he has improved each year and is still just 21 years old. The Sharks would be wise to give the Swiss winger an early season audition to gauge his NHL readiness and whether or not the team can afford to lose him for the 2017-18 season. On the other hand, if Rod truly wants to play in the NHL one day, he must develop quicker and adjust to the North American game, and would be wise to simply stay in San Jose to accomplish those goals, regardless of whether he begins the season in the NHL or AHL.

Drew Stafford Could Be This Year’s Kris Versteeg

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Last summer, Kris Versteeg didn’t get much action on the free agent market. He was 30, coming off a 38 point season in which he was traded at the deadline—basically a tradition in the NHL at this point—and ended up signing in Switzerland because he couldn’t find a contract around the league. A one-year deal with SC Bern of the NLA and Versteeg could try to rebuild his value while enjoying the sights of Europe. It was surely a bit disappointing, but it was at least a contract with a professional team. Only the disappointment wouldn’t end there. "<strong

Much later in the summer, Versteeg and Bern would end up terminating his contract because of some mixture of a failed medical and inability to gain insurance due to his previous hip injury, putting him back on the market after some NHL training camps had already begun. Again he was without a contract, and now without the ability to play in Europe (or at least for Bern) would have to slightly alter his plans. So Versteeg, the four-time 20-goal scorer and veteran of 550 NHL games, would sign a professional tryout with the (at that time) lowly Edmonton Oilers. With it came no guarantee of an NHL contract, but why not try out for a team close to home that has an up-and-coming core.

He’d stay with the Oilers for the next month, before abruptly signing with the rival Calgary Flames just a day before the two teams were set to kick off their seasons against each other. Versteeg’s deal would be for just $950K, and he’d pull on a Flames sweater on October 12th to open the year, playing 13:47 against the team he’d been practicing with for most of training camp. That $950K would go on to be quite a bargain, as Versteeg would put up 37 points in just 69 games and do enough to earn another contract—this time worth $1.75MM—with the Flames this spring.

"<strongThis summer, there seems to be a similar player left out in the cold after all the free agent shopping has been done. Drew Stafford has had very little written about him since the free agent period began, other than some thought that Boston had quickly moved on from the idea of bringing him back. Like Versteeg, Stafford had been traded mid-season, where he found some success with the Bruins down the stretch by registering eight points in 18 games. Though not a top-line player anymore, he still can provide some secondary scoring in the right situation.

Stafford, less than a year older than Versteeg will turn 32 this October and could still help an NHL team even if he’s not the 30-goal scorer of his youth. He’s just a year removed from registering 21 goals, but looks like he may have to take a PTO of his own in order to showcase that he still has some game left in him. He can still be an effective penalty killer, and won’t hurt you defensively if deployed in a bottom-six role, but has the offensive chops to move up on a short-term basis to fill in for injury. He’s a worthwhile experiment on a no-risk PTO, especially with the upside of an almost-free 20-goal man.

If he can’t find work this year in the NHL, there is also the opportunity that the Olympics present as he could easily make a US squad that will be made up of mostly college-aged players. Stafford would instantly provide some international experience, as he won World Junior gold back in 2004 and has suited up for Team USA in the World Championships three times. And, iff not the Olympics, there’s always Bern* (*pending medical evaluation).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Defensive Logjam In Dallas Not Concerning

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The Dallas Stars are in an enviable position, but one that might prompt a trade in the near future. After years of drafting heavily on defense, their prospect pool at the position is incredibly deep. Heading into training camp, at present, they will have at least 9 defensemen fighting for 7 roster spots. Theoretically, the could keep 8 on the roster for a time and keep only one spare forward, but ultimately, someone is going to lose out.

As of today, the team has Marc Methot, John Klingberg, Dan Hamhuis, Esa Lindell as their highest paid defenders. They also have Patrik Nemeth, Greg Pateryn, and Stephen Johns signed to NHL contracts, who are all over the age of 25 and would be waiver eligible if the team attempted to waive them for AHL use. There is also the still promising Jamie Oleksiak, an RFA who still needs to negotiate his contract. Finally, Julius Honka looks ready to take an NHL roster position after spot duty in Dallas last season. There are also more defensemen on the horizon, including the steal of a first-round pick of this season, Miro Heiskanen. Heiskaen is likely to return to his native Finland, but less talented players have forced teams to keep them on board. So, who makes the team? And will anyone be on the move?

Discounting the most expensive four, Nemeth and others should be concerned about being usurped. It seems that Honka has proven everything he can at the AHL level, and with his talent could end up outclassing everyone not named Klingberg or Methot with a good camp showing. Still, he can be moved down without needing to clear waivers. Oleksiak has shown real flashes as a former first-round shutdown player, but Pateryn and Nemeth both ended up playing a similar number of contests last season, and are second-rounders themselves. Despite limited action, their possession numbers were solid (49.9% and 51.3% respectively Corsi For) and there aren’t major faults in either players’ games. Oleksiak still has kinks to work out in his game, but his size (6’7) is probably just too tempting to move him at the tender age of 24. Johns played more games of any of the others, and brings a physicality that will likely endear him to new head coach Ken Hitchcock, despite his other shortcomings.

Ultimately, this is a camp that will be brutally competitive. The Stars won’t want to lose any of these players for nothing. Teams are always looking for youngish defenders on the cheap, and both Pateryn and Oleksiak would fit that bill nicely. Hamhuis would be tempting to move out, but he still eats a ton of minutes and provides veteran leadership to a young group. Lindell isn’t safe either, and moving his salary ($2.2) would be more helpful than unloading the cheap Pateryn or Johns. At the end of the day, it’s a wonderful problem to have, as depth at the position is always integral when players go down to injury. The Dallas Morning News’ Mike Heika is probably correct in his prediction that the organization will allow the situation to sort itself out on its own. Internal competition can be healthy, and by September many teams will be desperate to fill defensive holes on the cheap. Still, it will be a fascinating situation to watch develop.

Overseas Notes: Pirri, Brule, Villacher

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Despite some early reports, it remains unclear whether free agent forward Brandon Pirri is leaving the NHL or not. News out of local sources in Switzerland made it sound as if the young scorer had already come to an agreement with the ZSC Lions of the NLA. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, one of hockey’s top news-breakers, did some digging today and has doubts about the deal. Friedman believes that Pirri still plans on staying in North America, despite what is likely ample interest from European clubs. Pirri, still just 26 years old, has not been tendered a qualifying offer in back-to-back years, despite racking up 47 points in 121 games with the New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, and Florida Panthers over the past two seasons. Before that, Pirri notched a 22-goal season for the Panthers in 2014-15. Yet, often described as a one-dimensional player, Pirri has been unable to find a long-term NHL home. Will he wait out the market or take a minor league deal, as Friedman suggests, or will eventually succumb to the pressure of overseas offers, like that of ZSC, and leave North America?

  • One former NHLer who first turned to the ZSC Lions when he could not find a new NHL team was Gilbert Brule. The sixth overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Brule left for Swtizerland in 2012 after his once-promising career had produced only 95 points in 296 NHL games over seven pro seasons. Brule attempted a comeback the following year, but found a similar lack of success and moved on to the KHL, where he has played ever since. According to a press release from Russian club Traktor Chelyabinsk, Brule is on the move again, but still within the KHL. Traktor has acquired the now 30-year-old forward for cash compensation from Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. Brule is coming off his best pro season in 2016-17, after posting 42 points in 52 games between Neftekhimik and Medvescak Zagreb. Brule will look to stay hot in the final season of his contract after finishing in the top 25 in points per game last season in the KHL.
  • Brule’s former team, Medvescak Zagreb, has now left the KHL and has re-joined the EBEL, a league based mostly out of Austria, but that includes other European clubs like Zagreb, a Croatian team, and others from the Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia. While league re-alignment has been a major story for the EBEL, another has been the active off-season for Villacher SV, the lowest-placing Austrian team in 2016-17. In the past two days, Villacher has added arguably the two biggest names of any EBEL signings this summer in Rob Flick and Ben Walter. Flick, a fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 and a well-regarded enforcer, had been unable to crack an NHL lineup despite solid defensive play and moderate offense in the AHL and ECHL. The 26-year-old finally found his scoring touch with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays last season, notching 63 points in 60 games and will now look to keep that going with Villacher. Walter, a veteran of lower-level European hockey, was one of the top scorers in the EBEL in 2014-15 with 43 points in 50 games. Walter was a fifth-round selection of the Boston Bruins in 2004, and unlike Flick, saw 24 games of NHL action with the Bruins, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils. While Flick and Walter may not be massive names by any means to most North American fans, their relative talent level make them huge acquisitions for Villacher.

Morning Notes: Roy, Frattin

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After spending the last two years in the KHL and Swiss NLA, Derek Roy will try his hand in another European professional league this season. The former NHL forward has signed on with Linkoping of the Swedish Hockey League for the next two seasons, which should effectively end any thoughts of a comeback. He’ll be 36 at the end of the contract, and four years removed from NHL play.

In 738 NHL contests, Roy registered 524 points including a career-high of 81 in 2007-08. Though he received Selke votes on multiple occasions, Roy was never afforded many individual accolades but still carved out quite a successful career in the NHL. His effect was felt most early in his career where he helped lead the Buffalo Sabres to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, eventually falling to the Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes.

  • Former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matt Frattin will follow Roy’s lead and head overseas, signing with the Kunlun KHL team for next season. Frattin has never been able to fulfill his potential as a shoot-first power forward in the NHL, though he’s been a long-time contributor at the AHL level. At just 29 there is a chance of a return, but the success he’ll likely find in the KHL may outweigh any opportunity in North America.

Kevin Klein Signs One-Year Deal In Switzerland

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After announcing his retirement from the NHL last week, Kevin Klein has signed a one-year contract to play for the Zurich Lions of the Swiss NLA next season. Klein had one year remaining on his contract with the New York Rangers, but opted to retire and give up the $2.75MM instead of trying to work through his chronic injuries in the NHL.

He’ll do that instead in Switzerland, where he’ll join one of the top teams in the NLA for a year. Back in June, when it was first reported by Larry Brooks of the New York Post that Klein was considering retirement, continuing his career in Europe was mentioned. That didn’t seem like the plan last week when he announced his retirement, but at just 32 he likely has at least something left to give. The Lions are perhaps best known for their one-year housing of Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews while Marc Crawford was the head coach. While both of those men have moved on, the team remains a powerhouse in the league featuring former NHL players like David Rundblad and Robert Nilsson.

It’s interesting to see a player give up guaranteed money and a role in the NHL for the NLA, especially one like Klein who isn’t a fringe player. Playing 627 games in his career he has been a big part of the Rangers’ defensive group for several years, and before that a key cog for Nashville. The Rangers have made it clear they wanted to get younger this season, and perhaps they told Klein his role would be greatly diminished (or even buried in the minors) or maybe he just prefers the vistas of Europe over the metropolis of New York. He’s never been shy about his post-hockey plans—which include wood-working on his porch and opening a bed and breakfast with his wife—and this seems like just another outlet for those passions.

Viktor Stalberg Signs With Swiss Club EV Zug

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Over the past few years, many NHL veterans have turned to the Swiss National League A when they could not find a home in the NHL. Mark Arcobello, Roman Cervenka, Drew Shore, and Dustin Jeffrey made up some of the NLA’s top players in 2016-17. Yet, thus far it has been a quiet off-season for the growing Swiss league. Only lesser-known North American pros such as Mason Raymond and Joel Vermin have made the jump overseas, instead of the regular influx of NHL veterans like in recent years.

That is, until now. EV Zug, fresh off an appearance in the NLA championship, announced this morning that they have signed NHL veteran Viktor Stalberg to a two-year deal. It has been rumored for some time that Stalberg, ranked 45th in PHR’s Top 50 Free Agents, was looking into NLA offers, but after playing well for the Ottawa Senators down the stretch and during their surprising playoff run this season, many thought he would eventually receive a suitable NHL offer instead. Perhaps that wasn’t the case, as the Swedish winger has signed on for two years in the NLA, signalling that he is taking a break from the NHL, at least for a while.

Stalberg, 31, has been committed to North American hockey for some time now and it is a bit strange to see him leave after his stock rose at the end of the 2016-17 season. Stalberg originally left home to play at the University of Vermont in 2006, the same year he had been drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Stalberg went on to be a key forward for the Chicago Blackhawks for a few years, posting a 20-goal season and career-high 43 points with the team in 2011-12 and helping out the Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2012-13. Since leaving Chicago, Stalberg has become more of a journeyman mercenary; a role player for teams for short periods of time. In the past three years, he has played for the Nashville Predators and their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, the New York Rangers, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Senators. In those three seasons, Stalberg registered only 46 points combined, which may have lent itself to the seemingly low level of interest from other teams. Stalberg may have lost his NHL scoring touch, but he’s likely to rediscover it in the NLA. Stalberg is a great veteran addition for HV Zug, and with more than a few years of hockey left in him, Stalberg’s NHL days may not be completely over yet either.

 

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